Hi again GreenGuava,
Can't thank you enough for sticking with me.
Happy to help. It's one of my favorite topics to talk about, but trying to discuss it with IRL friends can cause problems.
I finally convinced my wife that this process requires her involvement. So, she and I are in this together now; she let me into her files and turns out she HAS an IRA after all. No contribution currently. It is approx. 15K split evenly between Putnam's Absolute Return 500-A (PJMDX) and Absolute Return 700-A (PDMAX) with exp ratios 1.15 and 1.31, respectively.
Gaaaah... you might want to see if there's a back-load on those, and if not, consider moving the money in-kind to Vanguard after you set up your new (2013) IRAs there. They'll help walk you through the process of an in-kind transfer; essentially, going forward, it will be like the money's been at Vanguard the whole time (no tax consequences to the move, although Putnam might charge you a small fee for the transfer; you'll more than make it up with reduced costs when you're at Vanguard).
Before you start your new IRAs, check to see how much (if any) she contributed to this IRA in 2013.
But... definitely plan to move it; those expense ratios are more than 4x what you should even consider paying outside of an employer account.
The 403(b) balance is approx. 15K also - all in TIAA-CREF Lifecycle 2025 (TCLFX) with exp ratio .88%. Contribution $100/wk as posted above. For the 403(b), it looks like she can contribute to one of four different annuity product providers (TIAA-CREF, ING, Metlife, VALIC ) or to Fidelity mutual funds as a 403(b)7 account. It appears it is just a directed salary deduction and she has free reign to do business with these vendors based on whatever they offer? I'll be damned if I can find a list of funds. I scheduled a meeting with her "adviser" at employer for mid-August (earliest available!) to figure this out.
TIAA-CREF is known for some good funds, and if they have Fidelity available, see if you can find any funds with "Spartan" in the name. Those tend to have good choices.
My new 403(b) is similar, with varying vendors.
Understood on using 11K of the 12K on-hand to max the IRAs for 2013. I like what I see at Vanguard.
More thanks your way... E-
Cool. When you get back, and we have the full menu of choices and how much money is in each place, we'll put together a portfolio for you that takes advantage of the strengths of each account (and tries to, as best it can, avoid the weaknesses of the same)